Pressure control valve



J. E. GRAY ET' AL PRESSURE CONTROL VALVE Feb. 14, 1950 Filed June 19,1946 Je" E-E.

. INVENTORS.

y/au.

Patented Feb. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl PRESSURE CONTROLVALVE John E. Gray, Robert A. Gray, Jr., and William M. Parker, PortHuron, Mich., assignors to Mueller Brass C,o.Port Huron, Mich., acorporationV of: Michigan Application, June 19,

purpose and' one particular typeof valve that has` so been employedincludes a valve body vhaving a pressure responsive bellowsl whichcloses`I when the' pressurey in the evaporator-coil isk reduced to apredeterminedy pressure and which opens when the pressure increases to ahigher pnedetermined` pressure. eluded in the valve', such predeterminedpressures maybe variedsoas to determine the operating temperatureofthefevaporator. However, in the operation of" systems of this type; it maybe necessaryt from time" to time to` evacuate' the evaporator and it isevident that a valve which closes when thepressure'is reduced toaprede"-v termined amounty willinterfere with the evacuating process.

The present invention is principally concer-ned with theprovison of avalve forad'justably'corr-N trolling thepressurel and; therefore;temperaturey ofthe evaporator whilerstill' permittingevacuation` of' theevaporator without any: interference suchA as stated.Generallyrthis:is-'accomplished byiproeviding a by-passvhaving anauxiliary'valvewhichf caribe opened for evacuating'theevaporator andvatother times heldin closed"position= softhat'the: main valveoperatesrfor controllingthe tempera-i Additionally, the" inture in theusualmanner: Vention provides an means for: connecting: a; presn suregauge toA theby-pass so asto determinetthe pressure in theevaporator-during the` process oilA evacuating the: latterbr at any'`other time when itis desired toy determineisuch pressure:L This. meansfor connecting.'thefpressure'gaugesisiso'ree lated to thel auxiliaryvalve` thattheL gaugemay.A be `connected"and;'disconnectedwithoutlosszof refrlgerant:v

One object: of thesinvention,4 tlierefore;` isto proi-l vide rin acyalvesuch@asigenerallyfindicated;` afcon'.

trollable by-passg; meansfwhichzapermits evacuate ing-f. the;`evaporator independently of' the pressure;` responsivevalve.: normally;controlling.; the? temay peraturegfof theevaporator;

Another vobjectsof 5' thev irnlerrticrrais:` to; provide valve suchas;indicatedrwhereizr.;thehunpassthasy auxiliary.fvalvezlmeansaandfmpressurerfgaugexcon By means of adjustable featuresin 1946, Serial No. `677,754

nection and wherein the parts are so arranged*v4 that` the pressuregauge connection may selectively be opened or closed with respect to theevaporator either with the by-pass closed to the Another object of theinvention is tov provide a1 valve of this character having auxiliaryvalve? means in the. by-passwherein the pressure gauge connection can becompletely closed so astov enable4 connecting and disconnecting thepressureM gauge.v with respect-to. the' by-pass without loss ofrefrigerant;

Another; object: of: thet invention is;v toi provide a;KH valve of thegeneral character described wherein l la the partscan be manufacturedand assembled e'- cientlyf'without introducing' undesirable costsA in*`the construction. f

Other objects of the. invention will become'v ape parent fromv thefollowing specification, from.y the:

drawingsy relating thereto, and from the clairnsz` hereinafter setforth.

For a better understanding of. the.4 invention, reference may be had tothe drawings wherein:4

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional viewof a 2 valve constructed"according to one formV of the-l invention.

FigureZfis a fragmentaryside elevational view asf-.seen in the-directionofthe arrow 2 in Figure 1. Figure 3l is a fragmentary Viewv incross-section 359 showing the auxiliary valve inthe by-passinits fintermediate position.

Figure` 4 is a Viewy simiiar'to Figure 3 iuustratf ing the auxiliaryvalve in its upper, closed position.

Referring tot Figure l, the valve comprises'v a body I0 havingavertically extendingfpassage' orA opening IIwhich is enlarged atitslower endras' indicated at I2; This enlarged portion I2. of theopening is closed aty its/lower endby a threaded plug I3. Abovethelarger-portionIZ'of the'open- 40? ing; I I, awall oftheropeningisthreaded as indi` cated at I4 and receives a threadedbushingI I 5 having 'anannular shoulder I6 engaging the junc' tion.between.; the smaller: and larger portions of theopening. Thiszbushinghas' a central. opening- Y I 9;:and at theupper: end yof theopeninganannular. valveeseat 20 isf provided which. isadapted to,` be.. closed,by'atvalve stem.. 2I. havingI af frustoconical end,22.adapted:toengagethe seat. For' slidablyV guidingi the stem, thef: bushing has '-afairsleeve-like integral extension 24 which receivesv thefstem.

Atrits' upper endztlie' stem,2I has` a headl 25k which` is urgedupwardlyy byv a coill spring4 26 5ft` 'ofzthe bushing :around the lowerend'of the exten--l 1 suctionline or with the by-pass open to such line;

encircling the extension.' Zzand. abutting `thevba'se f sion. Thisspring normally urges the valve stem 2| to a valve open position. Thevalve body is provided with an inlet 28 adapted to be connected to anevaporator in the refrigeratlng system and this inlet communicates withthe space around the extension 24 and also with the inside of theextension by ports 30 in the latter. Fluid owing through the inlet canthus flow downwardly through the bushing when the valve stem is raised.An outlet 32 on the body communicates with the enlarged part |'2 of theopening I and such outlet is adapted to be connected to a suction lineleading to the refrigerator pump.

Above the valve stem 2|, a cap 35 is threaded onto the valve body asindicated at 38 and this cap houses a bellows 31 having an upper endwall 38 provided with a head 39 on its lower side which abuts the head25 on the valve stem. The space i this time that the lower end of thebushing has yone or more openings 13 so that fluid may downwardly flowthrough the bushing, then through openings 13 and then upwardly to theport 52.

The upper end of the bushing 59 is formed with a valve seat 15 which isadapted to engage a -frustoconical head portion 16 on the upper endwithin the bellows is in communication with the upper end of the openingand, consequently, the fluid in the inlet 23 also is present in thebellows. Above the bellows, a heavy coil spring 42 is provided whichengages the end wall 38 and acts to hold the valve closed unless thepressure acting upwardly against the end wall 38 becomes sufficient toopen the bellows and in that event the coil spring 26 yraises the valvestem from its seat. The heavier coil spring 42 engages at its upper enda bushing 44 threaded into the cap 35 and it is evident that byadjusting the bushing, loading on the spring may be varied and, hence,the pressure at which the valve will open may be varied. A lock nut 45on the bushing acts to hold it in any position.

For the purpose of manually locking the valve in its closed positionwhenever this may be desired, a stem 41 is threaded through the bushingas indicated at 48 and this stem has a hand wheel 49 0n its upper end.When the hand wheel is turned suificiently, the end of stem 41 willpress against the end wall 38 of the bellows and in this way the valvestem 2| may be moved to and locked in its valve closing position.

It should be evident from the foregoing description of the valve thatnormally fluid under pressure in the inlet 28, and hence, fluid underpressure in the evaporator, will govern the opening and closing of thevalve stem l2| so that the valve will open when the pressure reaches apredetermined amount and will close when the pressure is reduced to apredetermined amount.` Thus temperature conditions of the evaporator maybe maintained and also adjusted if desired.

As stated previously, it is desirable, from time to time, in the use ofa valve of this character,

to evacuate the evaporator and in accomplishing this result by means ofthe present invention, a by-pass is provided between the inlet 28 andoutlet 32 which operates independently of the main Valve. ing opening50'formed in an extension 5| of the valve body which is in communicationwith the enlarged opening |2 by means of a port 52. At its upper end theopening 58 joins an opening 53 of slightly smaller diameter so as toprovide a y This by-pass includes a vertically extendof the stem 51.Such stem has an oppositely arranged frusto-conical head portion 11above the portion 18 and this portion is adapted to engage thefrusto-conical seat 55 when the stem is moved upwardly. It should beevident from the description so far given that the steml in its upperportion, as shown by Figure 4, will close the by-pass and also that itwill close the by-pass when in its lower position as shown in Figure l.Within thev margins of the seat 55 a port 88 communicates with theby-pass and this port, as best shown by Figure 2, leads to a threadedopening 8| which normally may be closed by a plug 8'2. This threadedopening is particularly adapted for connection with a pressure gaugewhich may be connected thereto upon removal of the plug.

For sealing the lower end of the bushing 59 and the lower end of thestem 61, a packing 84 is provided around the stem and this packing iscompressed against a washer at the lower end of the bushing by a packingnut 85 threaded into the lower end of the opening 5D. AThe stem 61projects `below the nut 85 and has a square end 81 so that itmay bereadily turned. A cap 88 threaded on the lower end of the extension 5|covers the lower end of the stem and at the same time additionally actsas a sealing means and preferably a gasket 89 isprovided between thiscap and the end of Ythe extension.

Normally, when the valve is in operation, the stem 81 will be initsupper position as seen in Figure 4 and in this position the by-pass isclosed and the gauge port is disconnected both from the outlet and theinlet ends of the by-pass. In

the event it is desired to evacuate the evaporator,

the valve stem 61 is moved to its intermediatev position shown in Figure3 and then continued operation of the pump will cause desired evacuationof the evaporator. be connected to the threaded opening 8| prior to thisprocedure so that pressure conditions may be observed. At other times,if it should be desired to check pressure conditions in the evaporatoror in the event adjustment is desired, the valve stem can be moved toits lower position as seen in If desired, a gauge may been illustratedand described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modiiications may be made without departing from the scopeof the claims.

We claim:

l. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet passage and an outletpassage, valve means in the body between the inlet and the outletpassages for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve, meansproviding a by-pass between the inlet and outlet passages and around thevalve means, port means communicating with the bypass and adapted to beconnected to a gauge or the like, and auxiliary valve means forselectively closing the by-pass to either of said passages and forisolating said port from both of the latter passages.

2. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet passage and an outletpassage, valve means in the body between the inlet and the outletpassages for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve, meansproviding a by-pass between the inlet and outlet passages and around thevalve means, port means communicating with the bypass and adapted to beconnected to a gauge or the like, and auxiliary valve means forselectively opening the by-pass to both the inlet and outlet passages orfor opening one of the latter passages to said port or for closing theby-pass and port to both passages.

3. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet passage and an outletpassage, valve means in the body between the inlet and the outletpassages for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve, meansproviding a by-pass between the inlet and outlet passages and around thevalve means, port means communicating with the bypass and adapted to beconnected to a gauge or the like, and auxiliary valve means forselectively opening the by-pass to both the inlet and outlet passages orfor closing the by-pass and port to both passages.

4. A valve comprising a valve body having inlet and outlet passageways,valve means in the body between the inlet passageway and outlet passage-Way for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve, means providinga by-pass between the inlet and outlet passageways and around the valvemeans, port means opening into said by-pass and adapted forcommunicatively connecting said by-pass with an external fluid conduit,and auxiliary valve means including a valve element movable selectivelybetween two positions in either of which the by-pass is closed to one ofsaid passageways and in one of which positions said port means is closedto said by-pass and into a third position in which the by-pass is opento both of said passageways whereby said conduit may be communicatlvelyconnected to one or both of said passageways.

5. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and outlet, valvemeans in the body between the inlet and outlet for controlling the flowof uid through the valve, means providing a by-pass between the inletand outlet and around the valve means, auxiliary valve means in theby-pass and including a. movable valve stem having spaced valve heads,and a pair of valve openings adapted respectively to be engaged by thevalve heads depending upon selective movement of the stem, and portmeans communicating with said by-pass through a. Wall of one of saidvalve openings.

6. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and outlet, valvemeans in the body between the inlet and outlet for controlling the flowof iiuid through the valve, means providing a bypass between the inletand outlet and around the valve means, valve means in the by-pass foropening and closing it, and port means communicating with the by-passand adapted to be connected to a gauge or the like, said port meansbeing so located that it is closed to the by-pass when the last-namedvalve means is in one position and is open to the by-pass when thelastnamed valve means is in another position.

7. A pressure controlled valve comprising a valve body having inlet andoutlet passages, valve means in the body between the inlet and outletpassages for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve, pressureresponsive means controlled by the pressure in one passage for openingand closing the valve, manually operable means for closing the valveindependently of the pressure means, means providing a by-pass betweenthe passages and around the valve means, and auxiliary valve means inthe by-pass .for opening and closing the latter.

8. A pressure controlled valve comprising a valve body having inlet andoutlet passages, valve means in the body between the inlet and outletpassages for controlling the flow of iluid through the valve,pressure-reponsive means controlled by the pressure in one passage foractuating the valve, means for adjustably determining the pressure atwhich said pressure-responsive means actuates said valve, manuallyoperable means for closing the valve while maintaining said adjustablydetermining means at its adjusted condition, means providing a by-passbetween the passages and around the valve means, and auxiliary valvemeans in the by-pass for opening and closing the latter.

9. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and an outlet, valvemeans in the body between said inlet and outlet for controlling flow ofuid through said inlet and said outlet, means providing a by-passbetween said inlet and said outlet and around said valve means, saidby-pass having a pair of spaced valve seats, one of said seats being ofsubstantially frusto-conical form, auxiliary valve means in said by-passand including a movable valve stem having spaced valve heads, one ofsaid heads having a section of substantially conical form and adapted toengage said one seat, the other of said heads being engageable uponmovement of said valve stem with the other of said seats, and port meansopening through one wall of said one seat whereby when said one valvehead is in engagement with said one seat said port means is closed touid flow from said by-pass.

JOHN E. GRAY. ROBERT A. GRAY, JP.. WILLIAM M. PARKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STA'IES` PATENTS Number Name Date 1,491,241 Kindervater Apr. 22,1924 1,630,741 Griniths May 3l, 1927 2,062,857 Askin Dec. 1, 1936

